Who was Benjamin Rush?
Benjamin Rush was a very dynamic and controversial figure in the early days of the republic. Born in Byberry (now a section of Philadelphia) on January 4, 1746, he graduated from the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) in 1760, and studied for six years in the office of a Philadelphia physician as well as at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, from which he graduated in 1768. He practiced medicine in London and Paris before returning to Philadelphia in 1769. During the Revolutionary War, Rush served as a surgeon in the Continental Army. In the Philadelphia Yellow Fever epidemic of 1793, he stayed in the city to care for patients ravaged by that plague while many less courageous physicians fled the city. He was the only physician to join those other patriots in pledging their “sacred honor” risking their freedom (nay, their lives) by signing the Declaration of Independence. He was a founder of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, of Dickinson College, and o
Benjamin Rush (December 24, 1745-April 19, 1813) was one of the Founding Fathers. He lived in Pennsylvania and was a physician, writer, and educator. he was a good friend of Thomas Jefferson. While less known that Jefferson, Addams, and Madison, he was, nonetheless, on of the signatories to the Declaration of Independence and he attended the Continental Congress.Dr. Rush is better known today for his restoring the friendship between Thomas Jefferson and John Adams by encouraging the two to start writing to each other again.He received a B.A. from the College of New Jersey, now Princeton, and then studied medicine in Philadelphia under Dr. John Redman. At the encouragement of Redman, Benjamin Rush wento to the University of Edinburgh, where he received his medical degree.Returning to Philadelphia in 1769, he opened a medical practice and then became a Professor of Chemistry at whati is now the University of Pennsylvania. In 1777, he became surgeon-general for the middle deparmtnet of th
